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Technically lights like that would be illegal. Instead get some retroreflector tape
Is it illegal? Absolutely.
Do the cops do anything about it? Absolutely not.
Meanwhile I’m getting blinded by lifted trucks with overhead lights and a LED light bars on the grills
I drive a small car, I absolutely hate it when pavement princesses come up from behind and blind me. In general I want to give the cops as little reason to issue tickets as possible. Retroreflectors are why we can see signs from a distance when it’s pitch black, so it’s a good option that doesn’t technically break any laws even if the law is basically completely unenforced
My two cars are a Miata and a Jeep. You better believe when I got the Jeep lifted I was extra careful about making sure the lights were aimed properly. That plus making sure I never follow too closely and hopefully I’m not doing the same thing to other people that everyone does to me in the Miata.
You know you’re doing it right.
Gawd I love a Miata. What year is yours?
A 2011 NC, the prht. I love that damn car.
I am envious. Beaut.
Yeah cops don’t even pull people over with unaimed blue HIDs in halogen housings even though they can be spotted from miles away. The dispatcher also just wouldn’t believe you if you reported someone for having a James Bond gadget on their car.
Can confirm. Inspired by this comic, I installed such a light bar in my car. Of course the very first tailgater I used it on so happened to be a cop. He just laughed when I explained why I did what I did, and then told me to never use it again. That was it. No ticket, didn’t force me to disable it in front of him. I just promised him “never again” and was sent on my way.
The plates use retro-reflectors. Does not help much.
You see, if you have good/accurate retro-reflector, it reflects back to the light source. You need scattered reflector, but then, it is not as bright as to make incontinence for whoever uses high beams.
as to make incontinence for whoever
Jesus that light must be bright if it makes people pee themselves
Whole town rocking Depends.
oh, I’m imagining basically what’s depicted in the comic except with retroreflectors
So do I. Will not work - it will not be brighter than plates - just larger.
Plate isn’t very big. Cover the entire back of the car with reflectors, and it will be bright enough to get them to drop their high beams.
It would be the size of smallish traffic sign. (They have reflective paint too). Still nothing special. I think it is better to install slightly convex mirror so that it directs the light into the offending driver eyes.
I know a few people with aftermarket reverse lights. Not all of them have a hidden override switch which turns them on when they aren’t in reverse…
That wouldn’t focus the beam back in the manner intended. Mirror pointed in the right direction would
Honestly I just want a display in the back that has a few preset messages set to a button in the front. Stuff like “Please give me more space” or “Your headlights are too bright”.
Barring that, would love a mirror that redirects headlights back to the driver’s face. If I can deal with it, you can deal with it too.
“You’re not being the person Mr Rogers knew you could be”
I’m not sure I want to cause that kind of distress for someone operating a moving vehicle.
I have this, you can buy a programmable LED sign off Amazon for a chunk of change ($150 for a decent sized one that’s bright enough for daylight use), stick it in your rear window, and then make your own custom messages to display. My favorite is “Move over” after passing someone on the right I’ve been stuck behind in the left lane for the past two miles.
Nothing new under the sun, I guess! And here I thought I was clever and original.
Happens all the time. Difference is, you‘re on lemmy and being honest. Try working at a startup where every idea is a mAjOr nEw iNvEnTiOn. ;)
I thought the idea of brake lights becoming “larger” or “brighter” (like a bullseye design) depending on how hard you pressed the brake, was an ingenious idea of mine…
Nope. It’s apparently been thought of plenty. Don’t know why it isn’t implemented though
I had that idea as well! Funny.
That‘s actually a good question. Probably has been tested and didn’t work properly.
I want one of those, too. Ironically, I think I’d be using the “it’s dark; turn on your headlights” preset more often than the “your headlights are too bright” one. (I blame daytime running lights: drivers see the ground lit up in front of them and don’t realize they still have to turn the headlight switch in order for their taillights to come on too.)
I blame dashboards that are backlit when the headlights are off. On my 07 corolla I KNOW I when I forget my lights, because my dash is a black void.
I kinda forgot about that feature. Now I’m wondering if my 2015 Accord does the same, but I normally have the headlights on “auto” anyway (unless it’s raining or something). I know my 2002 Hyundai did though
“POLICE follow me”
A Mercedes-Benz chassis code W202 (90s C class, other E and S likely work too) can do this with minimal modification, only needing the lights to activate when near vertical (or just reflectors, no mod required). The car has no check for if the car is in motion or at what speed when the trunk is popped open via the center console. This also lifts up the license plate, obscuring it from view. You can travel about 45mph (72kph) before the wind resistance starts to push the trunk down. The springs are strong so unknown how fast you’d need to go before it was ineffective for this purpose/target car, or to attempt an ‘auto close’.
Do what you will with this information.
Some truckers have this. Years ago I hit a deer with my Buick regal. The only thing wrong was the front right headlight was pointed upward. Picture the laziest eye you’ve ever seen… Before I got it fixed I must have pointed the thing right at a trucker’s mirror and he turned his 1500 jigawatt spotlight on me and moved into the center to block me from passing. I was leading ~10 cars up the passing lane at the time. I’m sorry for blinding you dude, but now everyone on the road is blind with no way to resolve it. I can’t get my headlight out of his mirror until I overtake. I guess he assumed I had my high beams on and was waiting for me to turn them off. Real 4d chess move…
with no way to resolve it.
I mean, you could’ve jury-rigged the light to point in roughly the correct direction, disconnected it, or even just not driven at night until it could be repaired. You didn’t have to create that dangerous situation.
Btw it’s “jerry rigged”, unless truck driver and OP are in court for the altercation!
I wrote it that way at first, then changed it to “jury-rigged” after looking it up and reading this.
That was really interesting! Thanks for the link.
Huh, weird! My takeaway is: “Jury-rigged is the best choice when the makeshift nature of the effort is to be emphasized rather than a shoddiness that results” for anyone’s TLDR
Pretty sure it’s both, given that both uses are extremely common and that be how language works.
Can’t do that while on the road, the trucker in this case was being a monumental asshat. That trucker is probably causing all kinds of fucked up dangerous situations at other times acting like that.
Well, yes, which is why the person pointed out how easy it was to solve before getting on the road.
Like yes, the trucker is an asshole too, but they aren’t the one that created the circumstance to begin with. They contributed, absolutely. Still not responsible.
Having a light that’s off and slightly blinding one mirror on the person in front is no where near as bad as blocking two lanes and blinding 10 other cars behind you. The trucker is by far the larger asshole, and way more dangerous on the road, in all of this.
Again, not the point. Trucker being an asshole has no bearing on the idea that OP could have done more on their end.
The point making is, that the trucker is making a slightly annoying situation caused by a misaligned light, incredibly dangerous with his behavior.
Driving with a misaligned light is a nuisance, but not inherently dangerous. Of course should still be fixed, it’s not OK. Blocking multiple lanes and deliberately turning on highly blinding spotlight on several cars behind you is fucking insane behavior and incredibly dangerous. His reaction is completely disproportionate and ahould be punished much more severely, the trucker clearly has road rage issues acting like that.
Hate to put it to you, but the DMV demands, and the laws back that up, that you are responsible for your vehicle, and that it should be up to spec before it gets on the road.
Fix it tickets are real.
He knew it was wrong before getting on the road. Also, he could’ve pulled over and fixed it on the shoulder.
Thats why I stopped using the fog light to fuck up high beamers. It’s just another fight you‘re waiting to get in. People will overtake and brakecheck you or do the same just to get back at you. A large portion of the polulation is literally braindead. I just step off the gas now and make them overtake since they think I‘m too dumb to find the gas pedal. Less hustle, faster solution.
A large portion of the polulation is literally braindead.
Yup. Just joining a dating app revealed just how many trump supporters and Covid deniers are out there. Tonnes. And not even in America. Fucking scary.
Side note: If you find smart people, do not let them go. FOMO will just get you alone and deny good shit from happening.
I‘m very glad I‘m married, partially due to this fact. The amount of insanity out there is shocking.
Yup. Just joining a dating app revealed just how many trump supporters and Covid deniers are out there. Tonnes. And not even in America. Fucking scary.
As someone who has never used a dating app, I have to ask, how do you find that information out?
Is it listed in their profile, or do you have to spend time going on dates with them before you figure that out?
You could put on your profile even the most innocuous thing and people are going to be very super open about their opinions about it. You could put nothing other than ‘been vaccinated’ on your profile and you’ll know without even asking for their life experience.
I like to give people a thumbs-down👎when they do something dumb while driving; add a little frown and a slow head shake of disappointment
Yes. Thats pretty much the farthest I‘ll go these days.
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I know a man who put a Cessna landing light on his motorcycle for this.
Can I get a Trunk Monkey instead?
So are you responsible for the criminal acts of your trunk money?
One of the skits showed the trunk monkey, not the human, going to jail for bribery. So I would say no.
What? 8 year old memes?!
We brangin all dat shit back son
Straight from the vault!
The classics…
And our laws have done nothing to stop them from blinding us from behind, from the side mirrors and from incoming traffic. 8 years!
Need a new version of the meme that’s a bit stronger, maybe.
This problem has been completely solved by auto-dimming mirrors.
Memes never die, they just become “vintage”…
easier to just install an LED marquee display in your back window that runs off of an arduino, and have pre-programmed messages that scroll like “turn your high beams off” or “put your phone down”. wire a couple push buttons to it and you can really get your point across on demand.
That doesn’t work for the 6 foot tall f150 blinding you with their low beams. Also, not as satisfying. Or deadly. A little collateral damage is just something we have to live with.
Rear fog light does its job in that case. There’s no need for the upgrade shown above.
Unless you’re American and thus don’t get to have rear fog lights.
You do if you buy a German car. Even US spec ones have rear fogs.
Doesn’t mean it’s legal to drive though. The vehicle has to be legally judged roadworthy where it’s being used, not where it was built.
I would expect you would have to disable/remove those rear fog lights if the laws in the US say you’re not allowed to have them.
Its legal to have and use them. Its not required for american cars to have them. That doesnt mean its illegal to have them.
Its legal to have and use them. Its not required for american cars to have them. That doesnt mean its illegal to have them.
While not always the case, car manufacturers usually won’t put things on a vehicle that aren’t legal to have in the state they’re selling the vehicle in, and the inverse of that is true as well, states that require items like (for example) catalytic converters on vehicles definitely have them on a car is sold in that state.
Yup my mini came with rear fog lights. I was amazed and confused of why we don’t have more of these in the US.
What?
But on most cars the rear fog light is one (sometimes two) 21 watts incandescent bulb behind red plastic. Same as a single brake light. That’s not going to bother someone with blinding LED headlights.
Just bolt a light bar on top of the trunk
This would be a really easy mod if you’re feeling brave.
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Truly I was in the slow lane with nobody else on the road with 3 lanes, and this douche in a CRV felt the need to shine brights.
bus lane enforcement camera
Wind would close the trunk
You’re assuming all the button does is pop the latch. Make it a self-opening trunk with pistons and it’d work fine.
Not if it’s opened with a hydraulic piston. 😌
Which is why I installed the light bar in my rear window instead.
P.S. If you install one of these, it only has the desired effect 10% of the time. 90% of the time it will only make the asshole tailgate you even harder. A more effective solution is to trade in your vehicle for a sports car, and implement the “drop a gear and disappear” technique.
My thoughts exactly. It’s just not worth it. Either stomp the gas pedal or take your foot off entirely. That usually makes them overtake and piss off. Only retaliate if you‘re ready to see it through.
Looks like someone is in the overtaking lane without overtaking.
Some people really need to learn how to drive.
Both cars are in the middle lane. The left lane is the passing lane. Do you know how to make a proper pass?
Every lane except the rightmost is the passing lane. You only need to be in the third lane over if you’re overtaking a car that is itself also overtaking a car.
Far right is the driving lane. Middle and left and both overtaking lanes.
That’s why loads of countries with decent driving safety and laws have signs saying keep right unless overtaking and undertaking is illegal.
Welp, you definitely don’t know how to drive…
The middle lane is the safest lane to stay in so long as you’re doing the speed limit. This is even taught in modern driving courses.
It is also illegal to be in, at least in the UK where your instance probably is. Fixed penalty illegal, not prison time.